Pages

Friday, August 17, 2012

When I was Young or How I Survived that 5 Mile Walk to School in the Snow

(c) 2012 Gena Philibert-Ortega

Do you ever ponder how much technology has changed since you were younger? My kids can't believe that I didn't have cable TV or a remote control growing up. (Like most people the remote was my brother or I getting up and changing the television channels, all eight of them). They really start wondering about me when I tell them that we didn't have color TV until I was a teenager.

But today I started thinking about other technologies that are different. When I went to high school I typed my papers on a manual typewriter. As a college student I bought an electric typewriter which seemed like a luxury. I learned to type in junior high, the same time I learned to take shorthand.

When I graduated from college, I used a word processor for work. Boy, that seemed like the best thing ever. Not only could you type, but you could correct mistakes prior to pushing the print button. Then your text would be printed on a piece of paper (dot matrix). I was so grateful to have that and not have to mess with correction fluid or ribbons.

In my brief time on this earth (well not too brief) I have seen technologies come and go. Items that were essential when I was younger (telephone booths, typewriters, carbon paper, mimeograph machines) are now antiques. So if that is true for me, imagine how it is for my parents or grandparents.

So what does this have to do with genealogy? Everything.

Need help writing your life story? Think about how life has changed since you were young and write about that. Write about what you used a typewriter for and include a photo since no one will know what that is in 100 years. Write about your trek to school each day and include a map. Talk about what you did for entertainment. Help your descendents have a visual picture of life back in the 'old days' circa 1980 or even 1940.

Write what life was like for you. Write like you wish your ancestors had written.

2 comments:

My grandmother was born in 1890. I once asked her what was the greatest thing she had witnessed during her life (she died in 1985). She said that when she was born, airplanes didn't even exist. Then they were used in wars, and later for passengers. She flew to California and was amazed. Then the space program came, and man went to the moon. She thought that was quite a bit for one person's lifetime!

It is amazing isn't it? When I think of my grandparents and great-grandparents and all they experienced and saw it's incredible. It makes me wonder what changes I will have seen by the time I am a great-grandmother. I have seen a lot of changes in technology, can't imagine what changes are to come in the next 30-40 years.

Follow by Email

About Me

Gena Philibert-Ortega holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Master’s degree in Religion. Presenting on various subjects involving genealogy, women’s studies and social history, Gena has spoken to groups throughout the United States and virtually to audiences worldwide. Gena is the author of hundreds of articles published in genealogy newsletters and magazines including Internet Genealogy, Family Chronicle, GenWeekly and the WorldVitalRecords newsletter. She is the author of the books, From the Family Kitchen (F + W Media, 2012), Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Arcadia Publishing, 2007), and Putting the Pieces Together . Gena is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association’s journal Crossroads. An instructor for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Gena has written courses about social media and Google. She serves as President for the So. California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and is a board member of the Utah Genealogical Association. Her current research interests include social history, community cookbooks, signature quilts and researching women’s lives.